Riley Strain’s Fraternity Brothers Offer More Details Into Events Leading Up To His Disappearance

WZTV FOX 17 News, Nashville / Facebook

Riley Strain’s fraternity brothers have provided more details regarding the night he vanished.

On March 8, 22-year-old Riley Strain and his fraternity brothers from The University of Missouri were visiting Nashville. Strain went missing after being ejected from Luke Bryan’s Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink for reportedly violating the bar’s conduct standards.

After being kicked out of the bar, Strain told a friend he would return to their hotel but never arrived. His friends reported him missing the next morning, initiating an extensive search throughout the city.

Over the next two weeks, city officials and volunteers conducted extensive searches throughout Nashville in hopes of finding Riley Strain. The investigation included searches through homeless camps while boats, divers, and helicopters thoroughly searched the Cumberland River near the last place Riley was seen on surveillance footage.

On Friday, March 22, a worker on the river, about 8 miles south of downtown Nashville, discovered Strain’s body. Authorities responded and confirmed that Strain was deceased.

On Tuesday, June 18, more than three months after Riley Strain’s disappearance, the Davidson County Medical Examiner released the official autopsy report. It concluded that Strain’s death was an accidental drowning, with alcohol poisoning cited as a contributing factor. His blood-alcohol level was .228, nearly three times the legal limit, according to the report.

As reported by The Tennessean, investigators from the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) interviewed three of Riley Strain’s friends who accompanied him on the trip.

Strain’s roommate, Braden Baltz, informed authorities that he and Strain were with a group that walked to Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa around 4:30 p.m. At the bar, Strain ordered a margarita, although Baltz was uncertain if he had consumed any other alcoholic beverages while there.

Later, the group visited Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk around 5:30 p.m., Baltz informed TABC. Records indicate Strain purchased two whiskey and Coke drinks, one rum and Coke, and two 5% alcoholic seltzer beverages while there.

At 7:45 p.m., Baltz recounted that they moved on to Luke’s 32 Bridge, where Strain had another rum and Coke. They then proceeded to Kid Rick’s Honky Tonk at 10 p.m., where Baltz says he is uncertain if Strain had any drinks while they were there.

When they returned to Luke’s 32 Bridge around 10:30 p.m., Baltz recalled ordering two waters for Strain after noticing his slurred speech. However, when a bartender observed Strain’s high level of intoxication, a bouncer was called to escort him from the rooftop bar.

 

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Baltz states that he called Strain within two to three minutes of him being escorted out. He told investigators that Strain said he was “a few blocks away” and on his way to the hotel, which was about half a mile from the bar. Despite this, Strain did not return as expected.